By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – A lot’s happened in the past year, but it seems more has happened to Chris Welch. The speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, a Democrat from Hillside, was the choice among House Democrats a year ago once it became clear embattled 36-year Speaker Mike Madigan would not have enough votes to stay atop the House for another term.

This past year, Welch said time management has been a key skill. For the year ahead, his goal is to increase diversity in as many sectors as possible, starting with higher education. He describes a recent meeting with university leaders.

“I got to see on full display how the priorities that we care about are changing lives,” said Welch. “The diversity that exists right there in the president ranks was just awesome to look at. We plan to make this a year where we truly plant the diversity flag in Illinois, especially in higher education.”

Among the House Democrats, Welch says he sees himself as a team captain rather than as a boss. As for the job of getting Democrats elected around the state, he says 2022 could be a “tough year” for the supermajority party but is optimistic hard work will win out.

And, as Welch considers ihs mark as the first Black speaker in Illinois, there’s this bad news for Illinois leaders to consider: Department of Children and Family Services director Marc Smith has been found to be in contempt of court over keeping a child months too long in a psychiatric hospital. That occurred days after a Springfield DCFS investigator, Deidre Silas, was stabbed to death while on a visit.

Smith, says Welch, has much to answer for.

“At the end of the day,” he said, “it’s not just on the director. It’s going to be on all of us: Democrats and Republicans, House and Senate, the governor’s office and the agency. This is a problem which has taken years to develop, and it’s going to take all of us to resolve.”

Welch says DCFS is of special interest to him, as his first state government job was as its deputy director of communications.